After 17 years in Planet Albany as a public radio journalist, Ian Pickus sold out this summer and took a communications job with the state Office of Mental Health.

He joins the podcast for an exit interview to reflect on his time with the capital region's NPR affiliate, including preparing for political interviews and his station's rocky relationship with then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Pickus also explains why he was ready to move to the dark side.

And in our "Working Rules" segment, the Times Union's Dan Clark discusses the turnover in the Legislative Correspondents' Association.

And if you enjoy Dispatches from Planet Albany, please leave us a rating and consider becoming a recurring contributor to support the podcast (because we could really use the money).